Cost of living comparison

Canada

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 15.9% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 42.1% less in Seoul
Groceries: pay 36.3% more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 13.2% less in Seoul
Housing: pay 36.3% less in Seoul
Childcare: pay 71.6% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.5% less in Seoul
Clothing: pay 17.2% less in Seoul

The cost of childcare and groceries in Seoul are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and transportation are lower in Seoul.

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Seoul vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Seoul instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.1% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.24 CA$26.03	$8.96 ₩11,960	-50.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.52 CA$15.02	$7.46 ₩9,967	-29.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 CA$2.95	$1.58 ₩2,113	-23.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.74 CA$2.48	$0.79 ₩1,050	-54.7%
Average			-42.1%

Ottawa vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.3% more for groceries

	Ottawa	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$3.07 CA$4.39	$3.10 ₩4,136	+0.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.27 CA$7.52	$8.84 ₩11,803	+67.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$12.34	$7.79 ₩10,407	-9.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.38 CA$4.82	$3.61 ₩4,815	+6.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.07 CA$7.24	$4.74 ₩6,331	-6.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.72 CA$2.45	$3.46 ₩4,626	+101.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CA$0.88	$1.57 ₩2,092	+154.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.75 CA$2.50	$2.59 ₩3,463	+48.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.64 CA$2.35	$2.83 ₩3,784	+72.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 CA$1.67	$1.66 ₩2,212	+41.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 CA$1.54	$1.16 ₩1,542	+6.8%
Average			+36.3%

Ottawa vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.2% less for transportation

	Ottawa	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.48 CA$6.40	$5.53 ₩7,388	+23.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$94.69 CA$135.15	$46.28 ₩61,794	-51.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,760.48 CA$39,623.92	$29,385.60 ₩39M	+5.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.45 CA$20.62	$8.51 ₩11,362	-41.1%
Average			-13.2%

Ottawa vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.3% less for housing

	Ottawa	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.74 CA$71.00	$20.82 ₩27,799	-58.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,478.74 CA$2,110.67	$886.39 ₩1M	-40.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,220.86 CA$1,742.60	$620.25 ₩828K	-49.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$103.40 CA$147.58	$162.69 ₩217K	+57.3%
Average			-36.3%

Ottawa vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 71.6% more for childcare

	Ottawa	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$927.38 CA$1,323.69	$1,927.59 ₩3M	+107.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,956.31 CA$22,775.24	$22,602.27 ₩30M	+41.7%
Average			+71.6%

Ottawa vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.61 CA$8.01	$3.73 ₩4,983	-33.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.04 CA$5.77	$4.10 ₩5,476	+1.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.31 CA$20.42	$3.36 ₩4,485	-76.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.45 CA$64.87	$58.22 ₩77,741	+28.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.65 CA$18.06	$11.20 ₩14,950	-11.5%
Average			-17.5%

Ottawa vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.2% less for clothing

	Ottawa	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.13 CA$85.82	$57.88 ₩77,288	-3.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.89 CA$54.08	$32.77 ₩43,762	-13.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.98 CA$151.27	$69.99 ₩93,458	-34.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.50 CA$137.74	$82.45 ₩110K	-14.6%
Average			-17.2%

Ottawa vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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Ottawa is about 4.6 times bigger than Seoul.

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